Reply to It is so hard this year, McLean HS boy 4.6 GPA got rejected from UVA

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So sorry!  I hope he has other good options.  What else does he have to offer aside from grades?  ECs?  Leadership?  What is the major?  If it is CS that could explain it since everyone wants CS.[/quote]

This is a big part of it. Grades and class rank are not the package. No one can say if he was a strong applicant. Did he: work, take rigorous classes, have leadership and community service, how were the essays, varied and long term ECs, etc. [/quote]

THIS. Only two PPs above have made this point while everyone else (only a few repeat posters, I suspect) is obsessing over GPA and nothing else. Parents on this forum often don't want to believe that their kid's ECs and essays actually might tip the scales, but it's true. So many kids have similar fantastic-sounding GPAs and test scores, but guess what? Colleges can and do still look at the rest of the application. Even for white boys from affluent 'burbs.[/quote].

Yep.  My white UMC son “only” has a 4.2 weighted GPA, 4.0 unweighted.  At a NOVA public.  1580 SAT. All 5s on APS.  Decent ECs that show leadership, governors’ school last summer.  For him I think it came down to ECs, essays and recommendations.  In at UVA (EA) and William and Mary.  So many kids have those same GPA and stats - the other stuff has to set them apart somehow.   [/quote]

Great that your son got into UVA - congratulations!  But if he had a 4.0 unweighted (i.e., nothing less than an A in every course taken) but only a 4.2 weighted GPA, that means he took very few AP courses, or else his weighted GPA would be much higher.  And that's surprising, because UVA wants to see highest rigor in all disciplines (i.e., LOTS of AP courses, absent some hook. [/quote]

I think that just partly bolsters PP's point, which is that things beyond grades and test scores matter. Although I do think that a 4.0 unweighted is impressive. That's four years of getting straight As, and that isn't easy even for classes of only moderate difficulty because it means that you didn't ever not take school seriously. [/quote]

Not to downplay the achievement of a 4.0 UW GPA, but at UVA - as has been said many time - class rigor means A LOT.  If you're not taking the most rigorous courses (i.e., honors and, when available, AP courses) in English/social sciences AND math/science, you're most likely not getting in unless you're hooked.  A great essay (which someone else could have edited the heck out of) and non-extraordinary ECs is not going to make up for avoiding AP courses.  [/quote]

Well, give me a little credit. I think we all know that colleges prefer to see an A in Physics to Intro to Art.

I am now curious if he had another hook. He's white, he's a man, she didn't mention sports, and it doesn't sound like he's first generation. What is his hook? [/quote]

DP.  Leadership in ECs and Governor’s School.  There are more ways to be outstanding than a 4.7 or whatever.   :roll: [/quote]

Leadership in ECs is pretty common among UVA applicants.  It would have to be something VERY out of the ordinary and meaningful.  Governor's School is helpful, but it's not going to make up for avoiding AP classes.  Plenty of applicants with good leadership, etc. AND most rigorous courses available.   [/quote]

My goodness, you’re like a dog with a bone.  Is it bothering you that this white, UMC boy with no hook was accepted - when his ECs just don’t seem as impressive to YOU as they “should”?   :lol: [/quote]

For goodness sake, I think it's great the kid got accepted.  Good for him!  But it's surprising, nonetheless.  And if you want to think that lack of course rigor for unhooked applicants can be easily made up for by good "leadership" ECs, etc. (which many, many applicants have), be my guest.  [/quote]

There wasn't a "lack of rigor," as much as you'd like to claim otherwise.  Good grief - he had a 1580 SAT and all 5s on his APs.  Moving on...[/quote]

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